Yes, starting with the 360, when the F1 was launched, Ferrari artificially limited manual allocation to 10%. The halo versions (CS, scuderia, 16m) were F1 only. Starting with the 458 it was DCT only (still referred to as F1 I believe).

If you want to know what customers actually want, for comparison the total 2008-2013 E90/E92 M3 distribution globally was 35% manual, 65% DCT. Just for North America it was 45% manual.

I had a DCT M3 and kept it for 80k miles but never liked it.

For the street, yes they are better.

For the track, it depends. I won't bore you with the details.

 

i'm not saying pdk shouldn't be offered, i'm saying manual should be offered as well

 

I'm absolutely convinced that if Porsche offered a manual variant of the 991 GT3, its target market for that car would automatically, and immediately increase by at least 30%.

Granted, but note I said it'd be their target market which would increase, not necessarily production.

This is significant, since by depriving customers of manual GT3's, Porsche is being disloyal to an important market segment of its age-long loyal customers, who (like myself) wouldn't hesitate for a second in giving up the top 1% of "clinical efficiency" of a "super PDK" in exchange for the sensations that only a traditional clutch and gear lever activated transmission can provide.

In the end, the bottom line reason is the same as Ferrari's; (beancounter driven): increase production efficiencies by cutting down on different transmission options and make better returns... And that would be OK, if Porsche relied solely on their GT's sales for their turnover. But it's certainly Not the case. The Boxters, Caymans, regular 911's, Panameras, Cayennes, Macans and all Diesel engined Porsches are all there for the profit and sustainability of the company; the sucessful, large volume sales of those models should allow ample room for Porsche to forego a little of the "extreme efficiency" manufacturing processes in the case of their GT's, allowing for manual variants of their GT3.

If Porsche's concern is to highlight the technology as the way forward, then they could simply limit the manual GT3's to a minority of production, and charge more.

.

 

No one loves the manual more than me, but the PDK-S sounds much better to me than the PDK, its why I chose the GT3 over the Turbo. Personally, I'd much rather have a PDK-S than one of the new manuals that blips the throttle on downshift for you, that is blasphemy. Would I choose the manual over PDK-S, dunno but none of us has tried the new box, who here would to back to film cameras or a revolver? but then again I own both, the film camera is a decorative item, the revolver a collectible, I'm reserving judgment till I actually try it

 

come on man, of course ABS are useful for safety purposes on the street, but how does that make the argument for choosing PDK vs manual? If you're just equating the "latest technology = better" argument then why not buy a Tesla

 

I cant pump brakes faster than ABS, I cant shift faster than PDK-S, the Tesla is for people who are obsessed with saving gas (not me), I'm just saying that technology moves forwards, I love the idea of paddle neutral, I've driven Nurburgring on playstation with paddle shifters, it didn't ruin my experience, my plan is to give the PDK-S a chance before condemning it. However I would be pissed if my only transmission choice was old PDK, I think I can live with PDK-S, maybe it will grow on me. The next generation of auto enthusiast wont be able to heel and toe, double clutch downshift, is that good or bad I dont know

 

"PDK is for people obsessed with the latest tech and lap times" and
Electric cars are the definition of "technology moving forward"

The above is true, yes?

Bottom line, those of us that love our manuals draw emotion and enjoyment from the experience of driving a manual vs owning the "latest tech". This is especially true for street use. I could care less about lap times and shift speed, they do nothing for me when I'm driving the car

Porsche should offer both

 

both choices would be great, my understanding is that the new motor cannot be mated to current gearboxes, as for electric cars and technology moving forward, I believe Electric cars like the Tesla or Prius are for snotty weenies who drive around their overly heavy acid filled batteries with a smug holier than thou attitude. Latest tech can go too far i.e. GTR (no offense GTR owners just an opinion) I dont know what I would do if they offered the manual, I think I would ave gone PDK-S. I had the same manual vs. manumatic dilemma with the M5, but I didnt buy that car, I can live with fake personalities and fake breasts on women, but I can't live fake engine noises in my car-a guy has got to have standards

 

Obviously, if they wanted to offer a new model that has a new engine with a manual tranny, they'd need to adapt a gearbox for it. This goes back to my beancounter theory as the bottom line reason. All justifications Porsche may provide, are just that.

 

Yes, I would miss my heel-toe. I'm an old dog and it is difficult for me to learn new tricks

 

I thought so too, at first. Have you tried one? The 370z is supremely executed. Best of both worlds IMHO. On that car you can disable it if you care to.

Opinionated much?

Have you driven the M5? The engine noise is perfectly executed. You cannot tell, and it definitely enhances the car. They can heavily sound insulate it from road noise to keep the luxurious aspect, but you can still get a feel for the engine.

There's another car that also has this now, I can't remember what it is, but apparently it's awful on that one.

 

very opinionated, hahaha, havent driven the Z or the M5, I like double clutching when downshifting, clutch in- gear neutral clutch out blip throttle clutch in shift gear-release clutch pedal, if you can disable the auto blip to do it yourself thats cool, as for the M5, I just can't deal with fake sounds, If I bought one I'd want to disable the system remove mufflers and listen to the roar- I miss by E39 M5 w/ Kelleners exhaust sound, I miss even more my 993 TT with Fabspeed exhaust. A cop once said, I heard that thing coming from a mile away-I told him it was stock

 

[QUOTE=GTSLVR991S;3973303]Correct if I'm wrong but there was a noticeable change in 7.2 vs 991 pdk trannies. Much crisper and much more seamless than its predecessor. Furthermore, the pdk in the 991 gt3 is a step above with more aggressive mapping and ratios.

I hope so. I tracked recently a 997.2 TT with PDK and a 458 Italia back-to-back and although the 458 was more video game than engaging, its shifting was miles (and noticeable milliseconds) ahead of the TT.

 

For the street, yes they are better.

For the track, it depends. I won't bore you with the details.[/QUOTE]

Second. For a panicked driver, yes, ABS is far better. But, an experienced driver can stop the car more quickly by properly balancing it and maximizing available traction. That driver will beat ABS every time.

That involvement and requisite skill is why the manual gear box appeals to many of us as well.

It's why I passed on my 991 GT3 allocation and scooped up the 997 GT2 RS the day I had the opportunity.

 

If the 997 GT3 was offered as a manual i would be first in line. I know PDK is faster but thats not why im buying this car.